Hannah Khalil - Plays of Arabic Heritage

This is the first ever collection of plays by Palestinian-Irish playwright Hannah Khalil - the first woman of Arab heritage to have a main-stage play at the RSC

It encompasses a decade's worth of plays exploring her Arab heritage, drawing on family histories as well as significant events in the Arab World

They were all written during a period that included the end of the war in Iraq, the intensification of the occupation of Palestine and the birth and disillusion of the so called Arab Spring

The plays included are set in both a historical and modern context

They include a feminist take on 1001 nights and the Scheherazade story

An exploration of Gertrude Bell, the Museum in Baghdad and Britain's role in the birth of the Iraq

Plus two plays looking at the Palestinian experience, one based on a family living through the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the other an epic collage that moves in time from 1948 to present day

This anthology also includes a radio play set in Dubai and a monologue about the power and legacy of artefacts

It's notable that these plays offer a plethora of non-stereotypical roles for actors of Arab heritage

Through the six plays the reader can trace a variety of approaches to storytelling, a host of memorable characters and some unforgettable stories

The Plays include

Plan D
Scenes from 73* Years
A Negotiation
Museum in Baghdad
Last of the Pearl Fishers
Hakawatis

With a Foreward by Alia Al Zougbi and an Introduction from Chris White